Portable apparatus for forming bends in concrete reinforcing rods

ABSTRACT

Lightweight apparatus for forming bends in concrete reinforcing rods at a construction site is described. The inner surface of one of the legs of an elongated angle iron provides a platform for supporting a rod to be bent, and a first stud around which the rod is bent projects over the platform from the other leg adjacent an end of the angle iron. A lever plate is mounted on the exterior side of the second leg for pivotal motion about the axis of the first stud. A second stud projects from a location on the lever plate providing orbiting of the same around the first stud on pivotal motion of the lever plate to bend any rod between such studs around the first stud. The lever plate has an elongated handle attached to it to facilitate pivotal motion thereof by hand.

ie tates Cusirnano tet 1191 1 May 15, 11973 [75] Inventor: MattCusimano, San Jose, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Cusimano Tool Development Corp.,

San Jose, Calif.

22 Filed: June23,1971

21 Appl.No.: 155,812

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,510,162 9/1924 Robinson..72/459 1,316,257 9/1919 Snell ....72/149 268,050 11/1882 Stephens..72/2l7 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 428,949 France ..72/388 GreatBritain ..72/217 France ..72/388 Primary Examiner-Richard .I. l-lerbstAssistant Examiner-M. J. Keenan Attorney- C. Michael Zimmerman [57]ABSTRACT Lightweight apparatus for forming bends in concrete reinforcingrods at a construction site is described. The inner surface of one ofthe legs of an elongated angle iron provides a platform for supporting arod to be bent, and a first stud around which the rod is bent projectsover the platform from the other leg adjacent an end of the angle iron.A lever plate is mounted on the exterior side of the second leg forpivotal motion about the axis of the first stud. A second stud projectsfrom a location on the lever plate providing orbiting of the same aroundthe first stud on pivotal motion of the lever plate to bend any rodbetween such studs around the first stud. The lever plate has anelongated handle attached to it to facilitate pivotal motion thereof byhand.

9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR FORMING BENDS INCONCRETE REINFORCING RODS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to the formation of bends in rods, such as in concretereinforcing rods, and more particularly, to a lightweight, portableapparatus facilitating the formation of such bendsat a constructionsite.

During reinforced concrete construction, such as in the construction ofbuildings and the like, it is often necessary or desirable to bend thesteel rods which make up the lattice work for reinforcing the concrete.For example, the reinforcing steel for a concrete column is most oftenmade up of a plurality of spaced vertical rods which are positionedextending lengthwise of the desired column and arranged to define aperipheral shape similar to that desired for the finished column. Thevertical rods or bars are then secured together in the desired spacedrelationship by other rods which extend laterally around the peripheryof the vertical bars.

The laterally extending peripheral rods must be bent to conform to theperipheral shape defined by the vertical bars. However, by necessitysuch rods are quite strong and resist bending. It is therefore thecommon practice to not attempt to bend the rods at the construction siteat which the column is being erected, but rather prebend them at anotherlocation at which a large and heavy rod bending apparatus is permanentlylocated for this purpose. The prebent reinforcing rods are thendelivered to the job site for use in constructing the steel lattice workfor the column.

It will be appreciated that the formation of bends in rods away from ajob site has certain disadvantages. For example, work will be delayed ifthrough either poor planning or late delivery the bent rods are notavailable at the time the work crew needs them for the column erection.Moreover, if it is found that the rods are not bent into almost theexact shape required, the work must be delayed while new rods arecorrectly bent off the site and then delivered.

There has been some concrete reinforcing rod bending apparatusesdesigned for on-the-job use in attempts to obviate the abovedisadvantages. Most often, though, such apparatuses have been large andcumbersome due to the structural strength they need in order to form thedesired bends. Furthermore, most of such available apparatuses have tobe bolted down in order to be used, and many of them are motor operatedwhich adds to their bulkiness and lack of mobility. Such apparatusesare, in effect, the same as the large and cumbersome rod bendingapparatuses designed for offsite use and, for this reason, have not beenwidely accepted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a lightweightapparatus for forming bends in elongated rods which is portable anddesigned for manual operation at a construction site, and yet has therequisite strength necessary to form the bends. In its basic aspects,the apparatus comprises a transportable platform on which a rod to bebent can be supported and a first stud rigidly secured to the platformat a fixed location which is spaced from the rod supporting surface adistance sufficient to enable a rod to be bent to be placed between thestud and the surface. Such stud is provided with an external peripheralsurface around which a rod on the platform can be bent and which iscompatible with the desired shape for the bend.

A lever plate is pivotally mounted with respect to the platform forpivotal movement about an axis which is generally parallel to the axisof the peripheral surface of the stud. A second stud prjects from thelever plate in a direction which is generally parallel to the pivot ofsuch plate and from a location on the plate which is also spaced fromthe first mentioned stud a sufficient distance to enable the rod to bebent to be placed between such studs. Moreover, the platform and thestud on the lever plate are so arranged that both the rod supportingsurface of the platform and the second stud can be on the same side ofthe rod to be bent while the first stud is located on the other side. Anelongated handle extends from the lever plate for manually pivoting suchlever plate to orbit the second stud around the first stud in adirection which will wrap the rod to be bent around the first stud andthereby form the bend in the rod.

The various parts of the above apparatus are either directly orindirectly secured to the platform so that the full apparatus can betransported as a single unit. Most desirably, the platform is providedwith an elongated angle iron, the interior surface of one of its legsproviding the support surface for a rod to be bent and the first studmentioned above projecting from the other leg over such support surface.The lever plate is desirably mounted for pivotal movement along theexterior side of the second leg of the angle iron. The resultingstructure has the requisite strength necessary to provide and withstandthe forces imparted during the bending of a rod. The elongated handlesecured to the lever plate is preferably offset outwardly from the angleiron so that manipulation of the same is not hindered by either theangle iron or a rod to be bent which is supported thereon.

Preferably, the stud which projects from the lever plate and actuallybends the rod around the first stud is formed by a cylindrical sleevewhich is rotatably mounted on a journal pin projecting from the leverplate. This enables the surface of the stud, i.e., the external surfaceof the sleeve, which engages the rod to roll along the rod as it causesthe same to bend. Thus, discontinuities in the surface of the rod whichmight tend to hinder movement of the stud along the rod are preventedfrom doing so. This is an especially important feature insofar as thebending of a concrete reinforcing rod is concerned since the exteriorsurfaces of such a rod normally include projecting ribs to enhance theengagement between the rod and the concrete which it is to reinforce.

The invention includes other features and advantages which will bedescribed or will become apparent from the following more detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING With reference to the accompanying onesheet of drawing;

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a preferred embodi ment of the portablerod bending apparatus of the invention, showing the same with the upperend portion of the handle removed;

FIG. 2 is a partial and enlarged elevation view of the apparatus of FIG.1, illustrating the rod bending lever plate in full lines prior to itbeing pivoted to bend a rod and showing the same in phantom lines duringa bending operation.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged end view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with portionsbroken away and removed for simplicity and to better illustrate itsconstruction; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged end view similar to FIG. 3 of an alternateembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to FIG.1, a preferred embodiment of the portable apparatus for bending rods isgenerally referred to by the reference numeral 11. As is illustrated,such apparatus is made up of an elongated angle iron 12 which isprovided adjacent its respective ends with spaced apart tubular legs 13and 14. Such legs are secured to the bottom of the angle iron by anysuitable means, such as by welding, and extend transversely thereof andoutwardly to provide lateral support for the apparatus.

The angle iron 12 is the main structural component of the invention andshould be of relatively strong stock, e.g., one quarter inch rolledsteel. It provides, among other things, a platform for supporting a rodto be bent. More particularly, the interior surface 16 of the leg 17thereof is arranged to be horizontal when the apparatus is appropriatelypositioned on a horizontal surface to thereby also horizontally supporta rod to be bent which is shown in phantom at 18.

The other leg of the angle iron, leg 19, extends vertically upward fromthe platform 16 and acts as a backstop to facilitate proper positioningof a rod to be bent, as well as means to secure the remaining componentsof the apparatus to the platform. In this connection, a stud 21 aroundwhich a rod can be bent projects inwardly from leg 19 over the platform16 adjacent one end 22 of the angle iron. Such stud is spaced a distanceabove the platform greater than the transverse dimension or diameter ofthe rods with which the apparatus is expected to be used so that suchrods can be placed between it and the platform. Moreover, it has acylindrically shaped peripheral surface around which a rod is wrapped toprovide the appropriate bend radius and bend configuration.

The stud 21 also acts as means for pivotally securing a lever plate 23to the angle iron 12. That is, such stud extends through the leg 19 tothe exterior side thereof where lever plate 23 is mounted thereon forpivotal movement along such exterior side. A second stud 24 projectsoutwardly from the lever plate 23 in a direction which is parallel tothe axis of the stud 21 and, hence, parallel to the pivot axis of theplate. As can be seen, pivotal motion of the plate 23 about the axis ofstud 21 will orbit the stud 24 around the former stud. Moreover, thestud 24 is spaced from the exterior surface of the first stud a distancegreater than the diameter or transverse dimension of the rods to be bentso that the rod can also be placed between the bending stud 24 and stud21, the one around which the rod is bent.

The stud 24 and platform are so arranged relative to one another thatboth the stud and the platform are positionable on one side of a rod tobe bent while the stud 21 is on the opposite side. More particularly,because the stud 21 is adjacent the end 22 of the angle iron, the stud24 can be orbited around such end of the angle iron to a positionadjacent the leg 17 thereof. Most desirably, the stud 24 is so spacedfrom the stud 21 that when it is in such position the upper exteriorsurface of the stud lies in the same plane or below the platform surface16. Such relationship is shown in FIG. 2 and assures that the stud doesnot hinder the placement of a rod in the proper location on the platformfor bending. In this connection, it should be noted that it is becausethe tubular legs 12 and 14 hold the angle iron, and hence the surface16, a spaced distance from any surface on which the apparatus issupported that the stud 24 can be located partially below the leg 17 forsuch relationship.

Most desirably, and as is shown in FIG. 3, both of the studs 21 and 24are formed by cylindrical sleeves 26 and 27 respectively, rotatablymounted on journal pins 28 and 29. The pins 28 and 29 are, in turn,respectively secured to the angle iron leg 19 and the lever plate 23 viathreaded ends 31 and nuts 32. The provision of the studs in this formfacilitates movement of a rod between them when it is being bent. Thatis, the cylindrical sleeves act as rollers which roll along a rodsurface as the rod is moved. This feature is especially desirable forapparatus designed to bend concrete reinforcing rods since such rodsnormally are provided with ribs or bars projecting from their externalsurfaces to facilitate anchoring of the same within the concrete to bereinforced. Such ribs or bars would tend to obstruct sliding engagementof a rod on the studs during the bending operation, whereas rollingengagement is not materially affected by them. As can be seen from FIG.2, stud 24 must be moved along the rod surface, in order to effect thedesired bend. Thus, it is most desirable that this stud be provided as aroller.

An elongated handle 33 is secured to the lever plate 23 and projectsupwardly therefrom to facilitate manual pivoting of the lever plate toform a bend in a rod. The securance of the handle to the lever plate isvia a pair of bolts 34 which extend through the handle into the leverplate where they are threadably received.

The handle is so designed that grasping of the same is not hindered byeither a rod being bent or the angle iron 12 when it is brought intoclose proximity thereto. That is, the handle is offset outwardly fromthe exterior side of the angle iron by being angled outwardly as at 36and then returned to its original direction by an angle bend at 37. Theresult is that the portion of the handle which will be grasped, portion38, is outwardly spaced from the angle iron while extending generallyparallel thereto so as to be normal to the direction of pivot of thelever plate. With this construction, a space is provided for the hand ofthe user between the handle and any rod, such as one which has been bentupwardly, supported by the surface 16, as well as between the handle andthe angle iron.

It will be seen from the above that the invention provides a rod bendingapparatus which is quite simple and lightweight for portability, whileyet being effective for its purpose. To bend a rod, the apparatus can beplaced at any suitable location and then the rod to be bent placed alongthe surface 16 after the lever plate is pivoted to the cocked positionshown in FIG. 1. Then in order to form the end, it is only necessary fora workman to apply pressure to the handle 31 and orbit the stud 24 in anupward direction around the stud 21. The distance through which the studis orbited will determine the angle of the bend. Because the handle 33is moved in a vertical plane, the user can obtain substantial leverageso that the bend can be made without the aid of any prime mover such asa motor. In this connection, the handle 33 can be made quite long toprovide the necessary leverage.

There may be a tendency with certain rods for the same to slip outwardlyof the angle iron from between the studs 21 and 24 during the bendingoperation. FIG. 4 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the inventionwhich is designed to prevent moving such sideways movement of a rodrelative to the rollers during the bending operation. More particularly,as is illustrated, each of the sleeves 26' and 27' of the two studs isrelieved to provide an annular concavity around its external peripherywhich generally conforms with the external surface periphery of the rodsto be bent. It can be seen that with this arrangement, the sleeves tendto encompass a portion of the periphery of the rod being bent, and trapit in place during the bending operation. This will prevent the rod fromslipping out from between the two studs whenever pressure is on thehandle 33' and the rollers 26' and 27' are consequently engaged with therod. The embodiment of this figure is otherwise the same as thepreviously described embodiment, and the remainder of it is neithershown nor will it be described in detail.

While the invention has been described in connection with preferredembodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat many changes and variations can be made without departing from itsscope. It is therefore intended that the coverage afforded applicant belimited only by the claims and their equivalents.

I claim:

1. Portable apparatus for forming bends in elongated rods, such asconcrete reinforcing rods, comprising a transportable platform having asupport surface for supporting a rod to be bent, a first stud having acylindrically shaped peripheral surface around which a rod supported bysaid platform surface can be bent, and secured to said platform at afixed location spaced from said surface a distance greater than thetransverse dimension of said rod to be bent whereby said rod ispositionable between said platform and said stud, a lever platepivotally mounted with respect to said platform for pivotal movementabout an axis which is generally parallel to the axis of saidcylindrically shaped peripheral surface of said first stud, a secondstud projecting from said lever plate in a direction generally parallelto the pivot of said lever plate at a location spaced from saidcylindrically shaped surface of said first stud a distance greater thanthe transverse dimension of said rod to be bent, said second stud andsaid platform being arranged relative to one another so that said secondstud is positionable by said lever plate on generally the same side ofsaid first stud as said platform whereby said rod to be bent islocatable between said first stud and both said platform and said secondstud, and an elongated handle extending from said lever plate for manualgrasping and pivoting of said lever plate on said axis to orbit saidsecond stud around said first stud in a direction wrapping said rod tobe bent around said cylindrical surface to thereby form the desired bendin said rod, said platform being formed of an elongated angle iron withthe interior surface of a first leg thereof providing said supportsurface for a rod to be bent and said first stud projecting over saidsurface from the second leg of said angle iron, and said lever platebeing pivotally mounted for pivotal movement about the axis of saidfirst stud along the exterior side of said second leg.

2. The portable apparatus for forming bends of claim 1 wherein the axisabout which said lever plate is pivotal is generally coextensive withthe axis of said cylindrical shaped peripheral surface of said firststud whereby said second stud is maintained at substantially the sameradial distance from said cylindrical surface while orbited around saidfirst stud.

3. The portable apparatus for forming bends of claim 2 wherein saidsecond stud is formed of a cylindrical sleevemounted for rotation on ajournal pin projecting from said lever plate whereby the surface of saidstud engagable with said rod is rollable along said rod upon saidpivotal movement of said lever plate in a direction wrapping said rodaround said cylindrical surface of said first stud, so'thatdiscontinuities in the surface of said rod engaged by said second studdo not hinder said pivotal movement.

4. The portable apparatus for forming bends of claim 3 wherein saidfirst stud is also in the form of a cylindrical sleeve, the exteriorsurface of which defines said cylindrical peripheral surface, which ismounted for rotation on ajournal pin rigidly secured with respect tosaid platform.

5. The portable apparatus for forming bends of claim 2 wherein theperipheral surface of each of said studs which engage the rod to be bentare generally concave with a radius of curvature generally conformingthe same to the exterior surface of said rod whereby said stud surfacesextend around the periphery of said rod and tend to maintain it in placeduring the bend formation.

6. The portable apparatus for forming bends of claim 1 wherein saidelongated handle extending from said lever plate is offset outwardlyfrom said exterior side of said angle iron second leg to extend in aplane spaced therefrom and generally parallel thereto for grasping andmanipulation without interference by a rod to be bent supported on saidfirst leg of said angle iron and extending therebeyond.

7. The portable apparatus for forming bends of claim 1 wherein saidfirst stud projects from the second leg of said angle iron at a locationadjacent and end thereof, and said axis about which said lever plate ispivotal is coextensive with the axis of said cylindrically shapedperipheral surface of said first stud with said second stud beingorbited by pivotal movement of said lever plate on said axis around theend of said angle iron to a location at which the peripheral surfacethereof engagable with a rod to be bent is coextensive with or belowsaid support surface of said first leg, and support means are providedfor said apparatus and for spacing said angle iron a distance from anysupport surface therefor sufficient to enable positioning of said secondstud with its peripheral surface coextensive with or below said firstleg support surface to facilitate placement of a rod to be bent betweensaid first stud and both said leg support surface and said second stud.

8. The portable apparatus for forming bends of claim 7 wherein saidsupport means is in the form of a pair of spaced apart tubular legssecured to the bottom surface of said first leg of said angle iron andextending transversely thereof to provide lateral support for saidapparatus.

9. The portable apparatus for forming bends of claim 8 wherein both saidfirst and second studs are individuin a plane spaced therefrom andgenerally parallel thereto for grasping and manipulation withoutinterference by a rod to be bent supported on said first leg of saidangle iron and extending therebeyond.

1. Portable apparatus for forming bends in elongated rods, such asconcrete reinforcing rods, comprising a transportable platform having asupport surface for supporting a rod to be bent, a first stud having acylindrically shaped peripheral surface around which a rod supported bysaid platform surface can be bent, and secured to said platform at afixed location spaced from said surface a distance greater than thetransverse dimension of said rod to be bent whereby said rod ispositionable between said platform and said stud, a lever platepivotally mounted with respect to said platform for pivotal movementabout an axis which is generally parallel to the axis of saidcylindrically shaped peripheral surface of said first stud, a secondstud projecting from said lever plate in a direction generally parallelto the pivot of said lever plate at a location spaced from saidcylindrically shaped surface of said first stud a distance greater thanthe transverse dimension of said rod to be bent, said second stud andsaid platform being arranged relative to one another so that said secondstud is positionable by said lever plate on generally the same side ofsaid first stud as said platform whereby said rod to be bent islocatable between said first stud and both said platform and said secondstud, and an elongated handle extending from said lever plate for manualgrasping and pivoting of said lever plate on said axis to orbit saidsecond stud around said first stud in a direction wrapping said rod tobe bent around said cylindrical surface to thereby form the desired bendin said rod, said platform being formed of an elongated angle iron withthe interior surface of a first leg thereof providing said supportsurface for a rod to be bent and said first stud projecting over saidsurface from the second leg of said angle iron, and said lever platebeing pivotally mounted for pivotal movement about the axis of saidfirst stud along the exterior side of said second leg.
 2. The portableapparatus for forming bends of claim 1 wherein the axis about which saidlever plate is pivotal is generally coextensive with the axis of saidcylindrical shaped peripheral surface of said first stud whereby saidsecond stud is maintained at substantially the same radial distance fromsaid cylindrical surface while orbited around said first stud.
 3. Theportable apparatus for forming bends of claim 2 wherein said second studis formed of a cylindrical sleeve mounted for rotation on a journal pinprojecting from said lever plate whereby the surface of said studengagable with said rod is rollable along said rod upon said pivotalmovement of said lever plate in a direction wrapping said rod aroundsaid cylindrical surface of said first stud, so that discontinuities inthe surface of said rod engaged by said second stud do not hinder saidpivotal movement.
 4. The portable apparatus for forming bends of claim 3wherein said first stud is also in the form of a cylindrical sleeve, theexterior surface of which defines said cylindrical peripheral surface,which is mounted for rotation on a journal pin rigidly secured withrespect to said platform.
 5. The portable apparatus for forming bends ofclaim 2 wherein the peripheral surface of each of said studs whichengage the rod to be bent are generally concave with a radius ofcurvature generally conforming the same to the exterior Surface of saidrod whereby said stud surfaces extend around the periphery of said rodand tend to maintain it in place during the bend formation.
 6. Theportable apparatus for forming bends of claim 1 wherein said elongatedhandle extending from said lever plate is offset outwardly from saidexterior side of said angle iron second leg to extend in a plane spacedtherefrom and generally parallel thereto for grasping and manipulationwithout interference by a rod to be bent supported on said first leg ofsaid angle iron and extending therebeyond.
 7. The portable apparatus forforming bends of claim 1 wherein said first stud projects from thesecond leg of said angle iron at a location adjacent and end thereof,and said axis about which said lever plate is pivotal is coextensivewith the axis of said cylindrically shaped peripheral surface of saidfirst stud with said second stud being orbited by pivotal movement ofsaid lever plate on said axis around the end of said angle iron to alocation at which the peripheral surface thereof engagable with a rod tobe bent is coextensive with or below said support surface of said firstleg, and support means are provided for said apparatus and for spacingsaid angle iron a distance from any support surface therefor sufficientto enable positioning of said second stud with its peripheral surfacecoextensive with or below said first leg support surface to facilitateplacement of a rod to be bent between said first stud and both said legsupport surface and said second stud.
 8. The portable apparatus forforming bends of claim 7 wherein said support means is in the form of apair of spaced apart tubular legs secured to the bottom surface of saidfirst leg of said angle iron and extending transversely thereof toprovide lateral support for said apparatus.
 9. The portable apparatusfor forming bends of claim 8 wherein both said first and second studsare individually formed by a cylindrical sleeve rotatably mounted on ajournal pin respectively projecting from the second leg of said angleiron over said support surface and from said lever plate, and saidelongated handle extending from said lever plate is offset outwardlyfrom said exterior side of said angle iron second leg to extend in aplane spaced therefrom and generally parallel thereto for grasping andmanipulation without interference by a rod to be bent supported on saidfirst leg of said angle iron and extending therebeyond.